Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Our Seattle home tour!

"Unless a home becomes a love affair, it is not a success. You have to love every single little thing—if it doesn’t have a memory, a story, it doesn’t count".

If you are someone who has ever received an e mail from me you will recognize the above line. It is my e mail signature line, something I came across many months ago and loved on sight. So I decided to use it from then on, as a reminder to myself (every time I sent out an e mail) to not collect and buy things indiscriminately.

Before we left Hyderabad and I was sorting out the gazillion things I had, I very consciously tried to follow this. I could only bring so much, and so very deliberately chose only those things that "have a story to tell, things I adored, cherished and held close to my heart".

Sure, the story could be as simple and not too profound as "oh, a very dear friend gave it to me recently"....like the colorful platter below the bowl

....or as meaningful as these wooden ceremonial spoons which our family priest has been using in all our religious family events for the last 50 years, worn out and burnt at the edges from so many years of pouring spoonfuls of hot ghee into the sacred fires...for births, weddings (mine included) and deaths!!!! The last time it was used - before I bribed our family priest to give it to me - was for my late FIL's first death anniversary this February. So it has a lot of significance to us.

Or these coasters, prints of temple drawings - done by a relative and given to my husband on his recent trip back to India for a ceremony - where each one of the 6 drawings represents a temple that was of special significance to the family performing the function!

But all have a story! And each time I see these things in my home I cannot BUT remember the story, the people and the occasion behind it. OK, I admit, there are some things that have no story other than "I went to the store and bought it"...but, for the most part I have tried to stay true to the sentiment.

So......a little description on the house....its bright, its white, its ultra modern and has lots of windows! Quite a change for me from all my previous homes that have had nary a white wall, have been pretty typical, and with the usual amount of windows. But you know what, I've come to like it. At one time I shirked away from light, now I'm loving it. (I think its an age thing...).

I chose bamboo reed blinds for the windows, to bring in some warm wood tones, and to let in light but still maintain some sort of privacy.....

22 comments:

gorgeous! even if i wanted to, i wouldnt be able to set up a house full of stories :) the house feels so inviting and cozy that i almost forgot the ultra modern pictures i saw months back. so when are we invited over ;) we will bring the food!

Kamini: Glad to see you blogging again. Loved this teaser home tour and the real one at OPAP. I'm sure your home is brimming with positive energy as it comes across beautifully in the pictures. I love minimalism but when I see pictures of your home, it just draws me to other side effortlessly :) Keep more posts coming.

So enjoyed what you have done with your new home Kamini - beautiful, no other words to describe every nook and corner. Its been a long time since I have been blogging or checking out blogs - you may have inspired me to start again:):) Hugs!

Wow...every nook and corner of your home is amazing, your passion for designing is so apparent, love the art work on the walls just superb, can sit and gaze at it the whole day...wish you a lot of happiness in your new home Kamini:)

Gorgeous home with my fav colors/textures from India. I keep decluttering papers/magazines etc from counters but if you have tips on how to keep them hiding permanently, please share! I have bought pretty boxes to hide mail etc but there is still stuff in my house that I am neither able to get rid of (important papers/articles/magazines etc) nor able to completely hide. Your home looks like the one in a magazine! Hope you don't mind sharing some tips! PS: The dining table has gorgeous legs, are they painted? Would love to see a close up of it.

Rupa....you've just given me an idea for my next post titled "What you didn't see in my house tour". No really, cos what you ask is a common question. I do have my storage baskets etc but I will do a detailed post and show you how to hide those things and where mine are hiding :-)

Kamini - am so glad to see your post :) This is my first time leaving a comment. I am a huge fan of your blog and visiting your blog is part of my 'daily' routine. Somehow things had become busy and i visited your blog just now and boy was i happe to see your post!! Love your new home!!!! Love the way you mix old world and new world elements effortlessly. I live in Seattle too and would love to meet you someday!! :)

Foodie....send me an email (my e mail link is on the sidebar) with your contact e mail. WOuld love to hook up. There are a couple of other bloggers here in Seattle. Anu of My Dream Canvas and Richa, a food blogger. Maybe we can all meet???

U have a beautiful home Kamini. I love the homes that have stories to tell with some knick-knacks that mean something rather than just a fashion items. :) Thank you for leading me to your space. Will definately come here again for inspiration. :)

I happened to chance by your blog and really looove the vibrant colors. Where did you live in Hyderabad ? I just moved there a couple of months ago and wish I had bought your house lol !!!. still house hunting though :-) ramya

u have such a beautiful house..i am big fan of your blog.i bookmark your page and love sharing your post to my friends and family.i love to see your post everyday..do please let me know the container service company to bring from india to US.looking for more posts coming

shobi - hope you read this. We used Writer Corp. to help us relocate from Hyd to the US. In 2006 we used Sky2c to move from Seattle to Hyd. Hope that helps. Any more info needed, email me at Kaminiandraga@gmail.com

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Saffron and Silk

Very often I come across things of such beauty, I feel compelled to immortalise it for ever by recording it down someplace and sharing it with others, especially those who are equally turned on by aesthetics and design as I am. This blog is that perfect place! It could be something as simple as a photograph of a gorgeous flower blooming in the midst of a brutal summer, or as elaborate as a fabulous art show by an eminent artist. So really, it is about anything that touches any one of my senses in the form of beautiful design, captivating music, delicious food, exciting art and photography, anything that makes me happy....the list is endless! I hope I can do justice!

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